Why my mandate is sacrosanct — Omasteye

By Charles Kumolu

SENATORIAL candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta South Senatorial District and former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Temisan Omatseye, in this interview explained how he emerged as his party’s candidate.

How did you emerge as APC Senate candidate for Delta South?

Omatseye: My candidacy is the bloc intention of the Itsekiri, Isoko and the Ijaw

Omatseye: My candidacy is the bloc intention of the Itsekiri, Isoko and the Ijaw

I was invited to come and contest the position by virtue of rotation that is existing between the Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri that make up the senatorial district. By the acceptance of that offer, I made it a policy that I was going to focus on the delegates so I can emerge victorious at the December 8, 2014 primaries. And by so doing, I became very committed by ensuring that I was at home with the delegates.

I knew that for an aspirant to succeed, the person needed the support of the delegates. In the light of that, I visited the eight local government areas in the senatorial district. I sat down with the delegates to chat the way forward. I consulted with ward chairmen, women leaders and every stakeholder. Having done that, winning the election was not an issue because I was able to get enough delegates. We had over 2000 delegates. Unfortunately, there were attempts to disrupt the election when it was ongoing. The leaders of the party were there when it was happening. Security agencies were able to handle the situation. Thereafter the votes were counted.

The results were declared at the spot after counting of votes according to stipulations of the Electoral Law. That was how I won the election. So, insinuations that political parties give victory, does not stand because electoral victories are earned and not awarded. Our position is that we won the election according to the laws of our country.

Were you certified the winner by the officials that conducted the exercise?

The result sheets which came in triplicate, showed who won the election. The white sheet goes to INEC, the pink goes to the party while the blue sheet goes to the candidate. I am in possession of my blue sheet. I was fortunate enough to have a photocopy of the white sheet. The only copy I don’t have is the pink sheet which was given to INEC.

Since you were given these legal documents to certify that you won the election, how come Prince Yemi Emiko is claiming to be your party’s candidate?

It is amazing to me. I was in Abuja when I heard rumours about the possibility of another result given by one Osita Okechukwu. I was shocked because the person that INEC recognised to have conducted the election was Mr. Achibogu.

I dismissed that because the returning officer in that election was Barrister Achibogu. When the rumour got stronger, I had to petition the National Working Committee, NWC. We have presented our position to the NWC which is the final arbiter on the matter and they know that I won the election. The beauty of this is that we recorded all that transpired that day.

Having petitioned the NWC, why did you take your party and INEC to court?

We cannot be working on speculation any more. Why I said that is that while we are here wasting time, election is fast approaching.

I heard on authority that the name that was submitted was Emiko’s name. Because I cannot physically verify this, I decided to ask the court to declare whatever Emiko is doing on the basis of that primaries, null and void.

I also asked the court to prevent INEC from recognising Emiko as the candidate because INEC supervised the election. I presented the result and challenged Emiko to bring his result if he has another one. It is not enough for the party to impose candidate on the people.

The law provides for a process and I have taken the process. All parties have been served the court papers. The court has asked them to come and explain themselves on January 16, 2014.

Against this backdrop, what is the status quo?

I remain the candidate. The bottom-line is that I contested election and won according to the stipulations of the Electoral Act. This is not the first time, this kind of scenario is playing out in the political scene. Governor Amaechi suffered same fate when his ticket was given to Celestine Omehia.

We are not relenting. The candidate owns the ticket, while the party is the platform through which the election was won. While the court process is on, we will continue to campaign because we have been given the mandate. We are not going to allow the PDP candidate, James Manager to represent our people for the fourth time against the spirit of equity.

Apart from the official compliant, have you met any of your party leaders personally on the issue and what was their disposition?

I have met with them. And the members of the NWC, I believe are working to resolve the matter to reflect the true democracy that the party preaches and stands for. I have met with most of them. Interestingly, APC elders in Delta State have taken a decision by saying that I am the winner on the strength of my performance at the primaries. Delta South APC leaders have also taken a position affirming that I am the winner.

They have also written the NWC in that respect. Members of the three tribes, who are not APC members, but are in support of the rotation between the tribes, have also taken a position and written the NWC on this matter.

If all the leaders who are duly recognised nationally have attested to my victory, it amazes me that an individual can seat in Abuja and impose someone on the people. Delta politics does not work the way they think, it is purely local politics that is driven by grassroots popularity.

When our elders take position, we respect their decision. You cannot wake up and decide who does what in the state. As an indigene of Delta South, I cannot determine what will happen in other parts of the state. Therefore, nobody in Delta Central can come to claim that he is the leader in Delta South. Temi Harriman, Okpozo, Esigie, Kokori, Okobia, Ogbuagu have all spoken that I won the primaries.

And that is the position of the state chapter of the party. No one should scuttle our chances of winning the election through undemocratic means. What is expected of the NWC is to ensure that the mandate given to me by the delegates remain sacrosanct.

What is the disposition of the governorship candidate of your party in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor towards this?

I think he has taken his position. And I am not going to bother myself about that. But what he should realise is that the balancing scale in Delta politics, is controlled by the Itshekiri and Isoko votes.

The Itsekiri and Isoko votes are bloc votes. If you go against their wish, I can assure you they will not support you.

My candidacy is the bloc intention of the Itsekiri, Isoko and the Ijaw. It will be interesting for you to know that my candidacy cuts across party lines. When the Delta Central senatorial candidate wanted to run, he did not take permission from us. So, external forces should not dictate for us. The governorship candidate is expected to use my machinery to win election in my constituency because I have the machinery on ground.

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